Month: October 2016

Separation

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

Hosea 5:4
Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the Lord.
The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
Judah also shall stumble with them.
With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;

Isaiah 59:1
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.

Jeremiah 5:24
Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.

How many times does God have to warn us of consequences?  “Your sins have kept good from you” – “Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” – “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” – “Their deeds do not permit them to return to God”.    We have freedom to choose each day.  For the most part we choose what time we get up, what we eat, what we wear, what we drink, how we will speak to one another, what we read, what we will spend time on, …… AND whether or not we will fear God and humbly serve Him for His honor and glory from sunrise to sunset.  How many times do we read about how in times of peace the people fell away from God and entire generations did not know Him or what He had done or said and the consequences of it.  Either the “lack of” or seeking for “knowledge and understanding” of God, within a generation, depends on each of us.  First within our families and then within friends, neighbors, towns, states, country and to all parts of the world.   We are told to go out and make disciples in all of these places.  How do we make disciples of the God when all day long we choose to ignore knowledge and understanding of Him – When we choose to spend our time not serving or living for Him – When we do not commit to being used by Him – When we choose to not to read and obey His word – When we choose to not listen for His voice speaking to our heart.  Joshua said “Choose this day whom you will serve – as for me and my family we will serve the Lord.  David said “Search my heart oh God and see if there is any offensive way within me and lead me in paths that glorify you”

Rejected knowledge

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
I will change their glory into shame.
They feed on the sin of my people;
they are greedy for their iniquity.
And it shall be like people, like priest;
I will punish them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.

Exodus 19:5
and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Proverbs 1:28
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.

They hated knowledge.  They rejected knowledge. They lacked knowledge. They did not choose the fear of the Lord.  And because of this God said: “I will reject you.”  “I will punish you.”  “I will not answer them.”  “I will forget your children.”  “I will not allow them to find me.”  “I will let them eat the fruit of their ways.”  “I will change the glory to shame.”  These are all recorded and given to us for the purpose of knowledge, understanding, insight, and warning.  Why is it that we listen to God’s saving grace and mercy but live  not serving, not fearing, not listening, not desiring, not seeking, not obeying…….?  Your life will not have any true peace, rest, purpose without total surrender to Him.  Choose to desire Him.  Choose to seek Him.  Choose to honor and glorify Him.  Choose knowledge of Him.  Choose Him above all this world has to offer.  Keep track today and see where your thoughts are and what your actions are.  Are they in line with Gods word?  Are they what would honor and glorify God?  Are they out of a desire to humbly serve and honor and glorify God?

 

No Faithfulness

“There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and no knowledge of God in the land;”

Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and no knowledge of God in the land;
there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is my contention, O priest.
You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy your mother.

Isaiah 3:13
The Lord has taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.

Jeremiah 25:31
The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,
declares the Lord.’

Micah 6:2
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,

Have you ever thought about what you would say in the presence of God?  Or what you would say if you knew you were coming before God and He was judging you?  Before coming up with what you would say remember that God is all knowing.  Scripture says He knows the intent of the heart, that His judgements are true, that He knows our thoughts and sees all of our actions.  Do we understand the depth of this?  Scripture says that we are to love our God with all our heart, mind and soul – Do we?  This would tell us that God should be ever present in our heart, mind and soul – Is it every minute of the day?  Do we find meaning for every day by staying in His word?  Do we meditate on it day and night?  Do we write it on our heart?  Do we post it on our doors?  Do we actively choose to hear Him speak into our heart and mind through His word?  I fear that our time with Him is more of a “checked box of I did it today” and not out of desire and love and truly wanting to serve Him.   I think about what David wrote in Psalms 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” This is a heart cry of what it means to desire Him with all your heart with the single purpose of each day living to honor and glorify Him.

Return

“Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God”

Hosea 2:20
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
“And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord,
I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth,
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they shall answer Jezreel,
and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Jeremiah 3:13
Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the Lord.
Return, O faithless children,
declares the Lord;
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.
“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord”

A voice on the bare heights is heard,
the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
“Return, O faithless sons;
I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.

Zechariah 8:16
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

Yesterday we saw from scripture that in times of prosperity the chance is great for moral decline.  God is faithful even when we are not.  He is true even when we are not. God is present even when we do not acknowledge Him. Look how God pleads with man in the verses from today: , – “Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God” – “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness”, –  “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding”.  Moral decline happens when men and women do not acknowledge God or seek knowledge and understanding of Him, and no longer listen to or for His voice, they do not speak truth to one another.  In the end they have forgotten His word and have no moral compass other than what seems right in their own eyes.  Stay in His word, desire Him, listen to Him, and obey His leading.  To speak truth to one another you must know what truth is.

Moral Decline

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

Hosea 1:6
She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.

Isaiah 62:1
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,

2 Corinthians 6:16
For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Hosea was a prophet during a time when the norther kingdom was living in a time of peace and prosperity.  Unfortunately with this peace and prosperity they did not stay close to God but rather had moral decline and the people chose to forget the living God to worship things made from wood, iron and stone.  I keep reading scripture like this and wonder how I/we differ from these people.  If you travel very far out of the US you know we are truly a blessed nation.  Prosperity and for the most part peace, when compared to other areas around the world.  Do you see a moral decline?  Do you hear of alternative things to worship?  Do you hear people talk about how all religions point to the same god?  There is one God and only one path to Him.  He sent His only son to redeem us through his sacrifice, to all who would cling to, rely on, and trust in this redeeming work of grace and mercy.

Spirit fill me

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

Judges 17:6
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Deuteronomy 12:8
“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 12:14
From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 21:1
he king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

John 16:7
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

During the time of Samson it was recorded that the people did what was right in their own eyes because there was no leadership in the ways of God.  When they had a leader who purposed and desired to follow God they had peace but when that leader and people lost focus and fell away from serving God there was punishment, exile, slavery, death, famine, floods, wars, destruction, drought, no blessing, no hope, no faith.  I am not sure we truly grasp just how much blessing we are living in since the time of Christ.  Before Christ died He told the disciples that He must go away because if He didn’t the “Helper” would not come. The Helper is the Holy Spirit and would be ever present in the world to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.  No longer would it depend on a prophet, king, or someone else – God would be omnipresent.  We live in a time where the Spirit of God is speaking to our hearts, minds and souls to lead us on paths that glorify and honor God.  If we choose to listen and obey we find peace.  If we choose to “do what is right in our own eyes” we find unrest, hopelessness, no peace or at best temporary peace without any satisfaction.  Choose to be a vessel for God, listening to and being guided by the Holy Spirit.

Be diligent

“But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?”

Judges 16:1
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

Judges 16:17
And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

Romans 6:21
But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?

Romans 7:5
For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

These are quotes from an article I was reading recently and go hand in hand with the scripture today.  Sampson lead for twenty years and then for some reason he lost focus on God and more on what he wanted for himself.  A good thing to remember to keep us diligent at staying in scripture and living each moment of each day in the spirit.
1. “there are consequences when people open up a doorway to evil into their lives”

2. “Religion is viewed as outdated and not very exciting. So evil can be invited in directly or indirectly”

3. ”If the house has been swept clean but no place has been made for God, the condition can become much worse”

4. “There is still an emptiness within us that is being filled with addictive behavior such as drugs and pornography”

“The decline in faith goes hand in hand with the rise in evil”